10 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 124 



These specimens and others taken at sea near the main Hawaiian 

 Islands (POBSP, unpubl. data) suggest that some earlier sight records 

 attributed to the very similar Harcourt's storm petrel {Oceanodroma 

 castro) may in fact have been records of Leach's storm petrel (e.g., 

 records by Munro at sea near Necker Island and Gardner Pinnacles 

 and by Palmer between Kauai and Niihau [Munro, 19441). 



The subspecies 0. 1, leucorhoa breeds on the coast of Japan and in the 

 Kurile, Komandorskie, and Aleutian Islands (AOU, 1957). It winters 

 south to at least the equator in the Central Pacific (P. J. Gould, pers. 

 comm.) and even further south in the eastern Pacific (G. E. Watson, 

 pers. comm.). 



Sooty Storm Petrel Oceanodroma tristrami 



(Tristram's Petrel) 



POBSP personnel have collected five sooty storm petrel specimens on 

 Green Island, Kure Atoll. The first specimen (USNM 493026, Jan. 1, 

 1964), a male with enlarged gonads, was one of two birds that were 

 observed digging at the base of a clump of grass (Lepturus). Two 

 other specimens collected, a female (USNM 494358, Mar. 1, 1965), 

 and a male (USNM 496223, Dec. 12, 1965) had decidedly enlarged 

 gonads. A female (USNM 497297) collected Jan. 3, 1967, had only 

 slightly enlarged gonads. 



Other sooty storm petrels were seen occasionally from 1963 to 1967 

 in the months from November through January, but no nests have 

 been found. Two sooty storm petrels were seen excavating a burrow 

 on Apr. 2, 1964. One bird examined in the field during the period from 

 Dec. 30, 1966 through Jan. 5, 1967 had a completely bare brood patch 

 and another had a partially bare brood patch. It seems very likely that 

 one or more pairs may have nested on Kure Atoll in the last four years. 



On Mar. 14, 1967, Hackman found two sooty storm petrel chicks, 

 one downy and very small, the other about three-quarters grown, on 

 Whale-Skate Island, French Frigate Shoals. Both chicks were found 

 in shallow burrows under the grass. 



In the Hawaiian Leeward Chain this species has been reported 

 breeding on Laysan, Pearl and Hermes, Midway, and perhaps Necker 

 (Richardson, 1957) and has been reported from Nihoa as well (Bryan 

 and Greenway, 1944). None have been reported previously from 

 either Kure Atoll or French Frigate Shoals. 



Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus mesonauta 



On June 15, 1923, Wetmore collected an immature female red-billed 

 tropicbird (USNM 300977) as it flew over Nihoa Island. The only 

 other record from the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands is Moynihan's 



